Trenilyas
Tatum had hoped to visit Tennessee at some point even before defensive line coach
Tracy Rocker stopped at his school on Friday.
After getting a scholarship offer from the Vols, Tatum decided to make the trip sooner than expected.
The four-star Class of 2021 linebacker from Mount Zion High School in Jonesboro, Ga., said he “loved” his first visit to Tennessee on Saturday for its first junior day of the year, and the Vols now are one of at least a few teams standing out to him.
Tennessee, Georgia Tech and South Carolina are among the schools the 6-foot-2, 208-pound Tatum is strongly considering among the 14 program that already have extended offers to him.
“I was planning on going (to Tennessee) before the offer. I wasn’t planning on going that day, but I was planning on going,” said Tatum, who’s ranked the No. 222 overall prospect and No. 15 outside linebacker in the 2021 class, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.
“I loved it. I loved the coaches and I loved the facility. I loved it.”
Tatum said the trip to Knoxville turned out to be even better than expected, and he’s “going to visit again in the spring” to take a closer look at the Vols.
“I knew it was going to be nice because of it being an SEC school,” he said. “But I didn’t expect all the treatment and stuff.”
He said he liked what he saw and heard from Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt’s staff during the visit, including what the Vols told him about his possible role in their defense.
Most teams are recruiting him as an inside linebacker, and while Tennessee envisions him doing something similar, he said the Vols expressed interest in playing him at “inside and outside” linebacker and “said I can do both.”
“I liked when we were all in there during the defensive meetings,” Tatum said. “It was just us and the coaches talking. They were telling the way they move and their game plan and stuff.
“They’re recruiting me as more of an inside — most of them inside. But Tennessee said they think I can play outside and inside.”
Tatum said he “talked to every coach” on Tennessee’s staff while he was on campus, but he spent most of his time with Rocker.
Derrick Ansley, the Vols’ defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach, also talked with Tatum.
“I talked to Coach DA,” Tatum said, referring to Ansley. “He said he loves the way I play. He loves the way I play the game and stuff, and he just wants me to come up there and play for him.”
Tatum said he believes Tennessee is on the right track under Pruitt.
“They’re going to be good in the next couple years,” Tatum said. “It’s kind of a young team. I already knew about them. I seen them play against Georgia State and UGA.”
While Tatum already has been to several schools, including Florida, N.C. State, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and Georgia, he said he plans to continue exploring other options coming off his trip to Tennessee.
He said he’s supposed to visit Oklahoma on Saturday before traveling to South Carolina on Feb. 1. It will be his first time visiting both schools.
Florida State and Wake Forest are among the teams that recently have shown interest in him in addition to his 14 current offers.
Tatum said the Seminoles have told him “they’ll be there sometime this week” to stop at his school.
The list of schools pursuing him has continued to grow, and the recruiting process is just getting started for him, in some ways. But he said he’s at least open to the idea of making his college choice within the next few months.
“If I do, it’s going to be before the summer, for sure,” Tatum said.
